It was a hectic weekend in Chennai. I planned this trip mainly to participate in the function organised by my friend R.T Chari, on 1st September at Tag Centre, to launch the Biography of Ramakrishna Raja, which I have authored. The news of my visit to Chennai resulted in my receiving invitations to participate in other events. I arrived in Chennai on the evening of 28th August. As I reached home my son who was waiting for me took me to Sishya School to attend the Junior School Day function where my grandson Thavam was a part of the dance performance by the children of the first standard. It was fun to watch the two dozen kids doing their best to impress the audience.
The first meeting I attended on the 29th evening
was the one hosted by Kuvikam ( a Tamil Literary group) to distribute the
prizes for the winners of the Sivasankari Short Story Competition, where
Sivasankari herself was the chief guest. It was a pleasure meeting some eminent
Tamil writers at the meeting. This was immediately followed by a dinner of 41
Club 7 (ex-Tablers) at Madras Club, which coincided with the official visit of
the President of 41 Club, India. I had to give a brief talk on the history of
the club. The delicious dinner hosted by Narsi & Mridula was preceded
by `fellowsip`. An enjoyable evening!
30th August, witnessed a small
private get-together to celebrate my 82nd birthday attended by my
family and a few close friends. My Sambandhi Naresh delighted the small crowd
with his command on the harmonica. The highlight of the evening was the
rendering of the song on lord Ganesa by Thavam accompanied by his
sister Bakthi. Thavam charmed the audience with his lovely voice and his
ability to sing in both high and low octaves. It was interesting to watch
Bakthi trying to keep pace with her brother. God bless them.
On 31st evening I was the chief guest at
the 57th Charter night of Madras West Round Table no 10 of which I
was a member between 1974 and 1982 and Chairman during 1978-79. The event was
held at the Flying Elephant Restaurant of Park Hyatt Hotel, Guindy.
The open atmosphere and dim lighting did not inspire me. Frankly, I was not in
my elements giving the motivational talk, I gave that evening. However,
that did not stop the dynamic and youthful members of the club from presenting
me with a fantastic memento, thanking me for my contribution to the Round Table
movement in India.
On the same day, early in the evening, I had
the pleasure of meeting Shri Indira Parthasarathy, a well-known writer
and a Sahithya Academy Award winner at a Senior Citizen Home in Chennai. I
presented him a copy of my biography on Ramakrishna Raja which was being
released the following day. Indira Parthasarathy had given the Foreword for my
book of short stories. At 95, though physically weak, his mind is still sharp.
It was amazing to see him quote from our scriptures effortlessly in response to
a query from a friend who accompanied me. I must thank my friend Chari for
arranging this memorable meeting.
I have already reported about the book launch on 1st
September in an earlier post. What was the icing on the cake was the six-column
report on the book release function in the Hindu following day. It made
my day!
All these activities coupled with the opportunity
to connect with my walking friends every morning was enough to recharge my
battery. Besides, the cloudy skies with occasional showers made the weather in
Chennai tolerable. Hope it continues like this for the rest of my stay in
Chennai. I am planning to return to Coimbatore on 10th September.
In the last six months since I moved to Coimbatore,
this is the third time I am visiting Chennai. Two months of relaxed life at
Nana Nani in Coimbatore followed by two week of hectic life in Chennai has ensured that I am having the
best of both worlds. As long as I am healthy and able to travel, I intend to
follow this routine, to keep me going.
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